Portuguese hardcore crossover merchants Devil in Me are back with ‘Soul Rebel’, their fourth album of predictably punky thrashy hardcore, which will no doubt please faithful fans and probably attract a few new ones, but, lamento te dizer amigos, left this reviewer a little cold.

It’s by no means a bad record, the band are obviously a talented bunch, with opening track ‘Soul Rebel’ being a catchy slice of heavy-arsed hardcore that thrashes along in style. However, the rest of the album continues in pretty similar style and tempo with tracks like ‘Knowledge is Power’ and the old-school ‘Monster’ being particularly repetitive.

There is plenty of good heavy straight-ahead riffing, as on tracks like ‘Warriors’, it’s just that it is all a bit same-y in its aggressiveness, even down to the titles/themes: ‘Born to Battle’, ’S.Y.G (Stand Your Ground)’ and ‘Blood and Rage’. I guess that for me the whole thing is a bit lacking in terms of hooks and interesting twists; it’s not bad, just nothing special.

I’m sure that for those who like their rock straight with no chaser, this record will be a winner; it’s heavy and punky and the guys are talented, but personally speaking it didn’t do it for me – desculpa!

2.5/5

‘Soul Rebel’ by Devil in Me is out now on Impericon Records.

Devil in Me links: Facebook|Twitter

Words by Edward Layland (@EdwardLayland)